‘Justice League’ Stuntman Signs On To “Snyder Cut” Petition

‘Justice League’ finally arrived in theaters this past weekend. Though it has so far garnered an overall better reception from audiences and critics alike than ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ (a turkey not even the president could save), that bit of good news has been overshadowed somewhat by the film’s disappointing box office take. Indeed, as opening weekend wore on, it became clear that the film was not only underperforming but on track to come in below even Warner’s more pessimistic projections. When past DCEU films have met with similarly mixed receptions, Warner has taken to releasing extended cuts on home video. This fact, combined with the increasingly substantial changes Joss Whedon is rumored to have made to ‘Justice League’ after stepping into the director’s chair has led some fans to rally behind a petition to encourage Warner to release a “Zack Snyder cut” of ‘Justice League’ for the home video market.

While the effort thus far has been spearheaded by fans, at least one individual involved with the making of ‘Justice League’ has signed on. Stuntman Richard Cetrone, who doubled for Ben Affleck in the film, posted a link to the petition on his Facebook page. In a comment on that post, Cetrone took pains to make clear his respect for both Joss Whedon and Zack Snyder, explaining that his interest in seeing an alternate cut of ‘Justice League’ is grounded in a desire for Snyder’s vision of the film to be fulfilled:

So I probably should have written this when I put up this post, but I want to make it clear now. I have nothing against Joss Whedon. I have worked with Joss on multiple projects and I think he is a great director and he’s very easy to work with. I also enjoyed Danny Elfman’s music for years going back to Oingo Boingo. So I agree with the cause, but not everything the person who wrote out the petition is stating. I posted it because I want to support my friend and do what I can to see that his version is released. You might say that is going to happen anyway, but that is not necessarily true. And if it does happen people should know that it is his version. When ‘B v S’ “extended cut” was released that was actually the “Director’s cut” and it my opinion that’s how it should have been released.

The big difference, of course, between the extended cut of ‘Batman v Superman’ and a similar cut of ‘Justice League’ is that the theatrical cut of the former was a film that Zack Snyder completed before being forced to cut it down to meet a desired runtime. By contrast, Snyder was never able to finish ‘Justice League’. While it would be fascinating to see a “Snyder cut” of the film, it would almost certainly include some amount of Whedon material out of sheer necessity. While it would offer fans a better sense of the movie Snyder intended to make and clarify the nature of Whedon’s changes, the finished product would be more comparable to the Richard Donner cut of ‘Superman II’ than the extended version of ‘Batman v Superman’. All of that is to say that it would likely be more interesting academically than as a complete, cohesive film in its own right.

What do you think? Would you like to see Zack Snyder’s version of ‘Justice League’ or are you satisfied with the film assembled by Joss Whedon? As always, let us know in the comments and be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more on ‘Justice League’!

Directed by Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon, ‘Justice League’ will serve as the flagship entry in DC’s burgeoning cinematic universe. The film will feature returning stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jeremy Irons, Amy Adams, and Jesse Eisenberg alongside a slate of newcomers that includes Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Amber Heard, Ciaran Hinds, and J.K. Simmons. The film will arrive in theaters on November 17, 2017.